Pumpkin Latte

When you're 2 1/2 hours away from a Starbucks, you find a way to have your treat. I actually think this recipe is better than theirs since it uses actual pumpkin. Definitely healthier! :)

2 cups milk
1 cup strong coffee
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 heaping tablespoons pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons sugar (or to taste)
dash of pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon

Add all ingredients to a medium sauce pot and whisk. Heat until steaming hot on medium-high.

Makes 2 servings.

Top with whipping cream and a bit more pumpkin spice/cinnamon if that's your thing.


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Whole Wheat Pumpkin Cookies

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup pureed pumpkin

2 TBL canola oil

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

Chocolate chips optional

Combined all ingredients. Drop by Tablespoon-full onto sprayed cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Make 24 cookies.

These are cake-like cookies, but very delicious. You can cut down on the sugar some if 1/2 cup is too much for you.

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Sour Cream Enchiladas

Recipe originally from sparkrecipes.com. Thank you to "little miss sunshine" from operation homefront online for sharing!

Ingredients

16 oz. fat free sour cream

1 can fat free cream of chicken soup

1 tbls. fresh chopped cilantro (1/2 tbls. dried)

2 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast

1 can Mexican Rotel

1 cup chopped onions

16 corn tortillas

8 oz. shredded pepper jack and colby cheese blend

1 can diced green chiles

Directions

In a saucepan, mix together sour cream, soup and cilantro. Heat through and set aside.

Combine the chicken, Rotel, onions and green chiles in a pan sprayed with cooking spray. Heat until onions are transparent.

Warm the tortillas until flexible. Then, fill each tortilla with about 2 tbls. of the chicken mixture and about 1 tbls. of the cheese. Roll tortilla up and place seam side down in a 8x11 dish sprayed with cooking spray.

Pour over the sour cream sauce and top with the remaining cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until heated through.


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Really liked this version! DH and I do not like sour cream, but had no problems eating this. I don't even think DH realized it had sour cream.

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Not-So-Plain Jane Sloppy Joes

Recipe is originally from Hungry Girl (I think). Ingredients: 1 lb. raw extra-lean ground turkey 5 small hamburger buns 1/2 cup chopped onions 1/2 cup chopped red bell peppers 1 cup canned tomato sauce 3/4 cup canned no-salt-added tomato sauce 2 tbsp. tomato paste 1 1/2 tbsp. Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated) 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp. dry steak seasoning blend dash salt Directions: Spray a large pan with nonstick spray, and bring to medium-high heat. Add turkey to the pan. Spread the meat around in the pan to break it up a bit. In a small dish, combine Splenda, salt and steak seasoning. Sprinkle this mixture over the meat, and continue to stir meat in the pan. Once the meat has browned, reduce heat to medium. Add onions, peppers, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar to the pan. Stir, and then continue to cook for 5 minutes. Add tomato sauces and paste to the pan and stir well. Reduce heat to low, and cook the mixture for an additional 5 minutes. Toast the buns, if desired. Put 1/5th of the mixture on each bottom bun, and then finish off with tops of the buns.

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DH and I decided we like this Sloppy Joes a lot better than other ones I've tried. While we're not big sloppy joe fans, this is quite tasty. Will make this again.

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Menu: 9/26 - 10/2

I'm still enjoying trying out new recipes! :)

Sunday:

BLTs and frozen veggies

Monday:

Not-So-Plain Jane Sloppy Joes on homemade buns (using artisan bread dough) with steamed broccoli

Tuesday:

Chicken Squash Bake (really liked this recipe! Even DH who hates yellow squash wanted seconds!)

Wednesday:

Homemade Pizza (spinach, tomato, and sausage for me, sausage for DH) (pizza dough recipe if you don't use artisan bread)

Thursday:

Soy Ginger Salmon, sautéed zucchini, drop biscuits

Friday:

Sour Cream Enchiladas and corn

Saturday:

Whole wheat waffles

Leftovers/menu make up day/out to eat

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Just a note: I'm due with my 1st child in 3 1/2 weeks! Don't be surprised when I suddenly stop updating on here (hopefully I have at least a couple more weeks left!). Do know that I will be back to posting afterwards. After all, I cannot survive without some sort of plan to make a grocery list from. :)

Menu: 9/19 - 9/25

Last week we ended up having 2 last minute events, so I didn't get around to making chicken parmesan. I also had pregnancy brain when shopping and somehow forgot the cheese and salsa for the quesadillas. We ended up having hamburgers, squash, and tater tots that night. *sigh* Hopefully this week will go a bit smoother. ;)

Sunday:

Chicken and cheese quesadillas

*Bake Playground Granola Bars (loved these!!! Can't wait to mess around with this recipe for some different tastes.)

Monday:

Fend for ourselves (schedules don't mesh for dinner)

Tuesday:

Chicken parmesan, whole wheat pasta, and steamed broccoli

Wednesday:

Eggplant Caponata (loved this! I recommend cutting the recipe in half unless you're feeding a crowd) w/ baguette and baked paprika-parmesan chicken (good basic recipe; I upped the temp to 400* and baked for 30 minutes, and next time I'll bake it on a rack)

Thursday:

Tuna fish salad (grilled sandwich for DH) and squash

Friday:

Homemade biscuits, scrambled eggs, and bacon

Saturday:

Breakfast – blueberry pancakes (Tried a new pancake recipe which wasn't as great as this one that I tried last time, so I'm not going to bother posting the one I used.)

Leftovers/menu make up day/out to eat

Oatmeal and Apple Bars

Original recipe thanks to "Yogi" from the operation homefront online forum.

1 medium apple chopped

½ c. butter, softened

½ c. brown sugar

½ c. granulated sugar

½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 egg

1 c. all purpose flour

½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp salt

1-1/2 c quick cooking oats

Heat oven to 350F. Lightly spray cookie sheet with vegetable pan spray. In a large bowl, cream butter with both sugars. Add vanilla and egg; blend well. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, and oats; mix well. Stir in apples. Spray a 1 oz. cookie scoop or tablespoon with vegetable pan spray and drop dough on prepared pans. Bake 15-18 minutes or until edges are light golden brown.

Makes: 2 dozen cookies

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I used this recipe, but added some cinnamon. I then baked it in an 8x8 baking dish for double the time. Cut into bars and wrapped each individually. Made for soft, chewy bars that tasted divine! Works great for snacks. Next time I'll decrease the sugar a bit (it's rather sweet) and bake in a slightly larger pan though the recipe does work great as is.

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Menu: 9/12 - 9/18

Sunday:

Chili-rubbed steaks and pan salsa, sautéed zucchini, and baked sweet potatoes

*Bake oatmeal and apple bars for snacks this week

Monday:

Chicken parmesan, whole wheat pasta, and steamed broccoli

Tuesday:

Breakfast burritos w/ Italian sausage, tomatoes, eggs, jalapeños and tater tots w/ sautéed squash

Wednesday:

Chili Pasta skillet made w/ ground turkey and corn added

Thursday:

Chicken and cheese quesadillas

Friday:

Easy Baked Tilapia w/ bisquick drop biscuits

Saturday:

Leftovers/menu make up day/out to eat

Lime and Garlic Chicken Spinach Salad

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1/2 onion, chopped

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

 pinch salt

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

Spinach

More lime juice to taste

Mix together the onion, garlic, pepper, salt, and 1/4 cup lime juice in a zip bag. Add chicken and marinate for at least a few hours. Grill and slice. Serve over spinach. Top with more lime juice to taste.

DH and I added chopped tomato, parmesan cheese, sliced carrots, croutons, and walnuts to our salads to make it a complete meal. Very yummy! The chicken was not too strong tasting, so using more lime juice as the dressing worked out very well.

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Menu: 9/7 - 9/11

Tuesday:

Calzones with Italian sausage and spinach

Wednesday:

Baked Spaghetti Squash
-I cooked spaghetti squash as normal. In a baking dish I layered a thin layer of spaghetti sauce, half the squash strands, a layer of mozzarella cheese, rest of squash, and rest of sauce. I topped with a little more mozzarella cheese and shredded parmesan cheese. I baked until bubbly. It was really good. Got DH approval which is great since he usually hates meals without meat and is not a big fan of spaghetti squash. Can't wait to experiment with this more!

Thursday:

Baked Dijon Salmon Filets, steamed broccoli, and steamed rice
Salmon Review 9/9 - Okay, I made this tonight. Will not make again. While not horrible, it wasn't great. More mushy on top despite being put under the broiler. There are much better ways to cook salmon.

Friday:

Lime and Garlic Chicken Spinach Salad 

Saturday:

Breakfast – Cinnamon Twists with leftover Brioch dough* (the twists were amazing and easy! Recipe can be found in the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day)

Leftovers/menu make up day/out to eat

At some point this week I'm going to try Apple and Pear Coffee Cake and Oatmeal and Apple Bars.

*Brioche dough is the basis of the Apple and Pear Coffee Cake and comes from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.